Maintaining your motivation to move
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Staying active is not only more enjoyable when you genuinely want to do it – genuinely wanting to do it can keep you moving, too. Here’s how to maintain your motivation.
- Move goals/
- Maintaining your motivation to move
The Strategist
More than willpower alone
Ah, willpower. It’s the thing we often wish we had more of in order to achieve our goals.But research suggests that kicking goals takes much more than willpower alone. So instead of trying to strengthen yours, it’s better to work on your desire to move – think more pleasure than punishment.
And that’s where motivation comes in. Here’s how to keep yours topped up as a Strategist.
1. Remember your ‘why
Keep reminding yourself why you signed up to this action plan in the first place. Behavioural scientists say keeping that front and centre in your mind will help you stay motivated to continue working towards your goal.As someone who’s naturally conscientious and with a strong sense of duty, it may seem natural to zero in on a ‘why’ that links exercising to something you’ll avoid, like weight gain or heart disease.
But research suggests you’re better off focusing on the more immediate gains healthy lifestyle changes will deliver, as opposed to zeroing in on long-term disease prevention. In other words, frame your ‘why’ so the emphasis is on the positives you’ll gain rather than the negatives you’ll avoid.
It works because it turns the behaviours that’ll bring you closer to achieving your ‘why’ into things you want to do rather than things you feel like you have to do.
2. Share what you know
As a Strategist, you’ll naturally get a kick out of sharing your results – particularly if it means helping the ones you love create their own plan to move more.But it turns out it’s an effective way to give your motivation a pep talk, too. The majority of people involved in a US study said they felt more motivated to work towards their own goals after giving relevant advice to someone rather than receiving it.
3. Reward yourself
You’re inherently focused, well organised and conscientious, which is one of the reasons why your personality stands you in good stead to achieve your activity goals. But it’s important that you make a conscious effort to enjoy the process as well, rather than just ticking the boxes.One way to do that is rewarding yourself occasionally. Studies on ‘rewards as motivation’ show they work – and dishing them out frequently is more important than the size of the reward.
So, instead of waiting to reward yourself when you reach your end goal, organise some small but enjoyable-to-you rewards to treat yourself with weekly.
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